1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the collection and storage of articles, and, more particularly, to a machine for classifying and storing recyclable articles.
2. Description of Related Art
With the increasing emphasis on environmental protection, the recycling of used beverage containers, such as aluminum, glass, plastic containers and other similar articles has become an important factor in the conservation effort.
On the other hand, non-returnable containers for beverages and other goods are widely used because their cost has been less than the cost of recycling and/or cleaning reusable deposit containers and bottles. One significant effect of the widespread use of non-returnable containers has been increased litter in public places, and overflow of garbage dumps and landfills.
To combat litter and increase the amount of material that is recycled, several states have enacted mandatory "deposit laws" that require containers to have an added deposit cost. When the consumer purchases a product in such a container, a container deposit, typically one to five cents, is added to the purchase price. After consumption of the product, the consumer can obtain a refund of the deposit by returning the empty container, often to the retailer, for recycling. The amount of the deposit may be adjusted to create an incentive for returning the container that is greater than the inconvenience in doing so. In these states, retailers generally collect the used containers and sell them to distributors or others who pay the retailer for the scrap value of the containers plus an amount to cover the retailer's handling costs.
Since the high labor cost of processing recycled material often makes recycling nonprofitable, especially for retailers, various automatic machines that accept material for recycling and issue deposit refunds have been proposed. These machines relieve the burdens on the grocery industry and those who must collect the containers, pay the refunds, and store the returned articles. For example, Applicant's assignee is the owner of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,324,325, 4,345,679, 4,440,284, 4,469,212, 4,492,295, 4,573,641, 4,579,216, 4,784,251, and 5,226,519. All of these patents relate to machines and systems for automated redemption of beverage containers.
Another approach to improving the economics of recycling is to increase the scrap value of the recycled material. One method for increasing the scrap value is to segregate the returned material into groups having a scrap price inherently higher than the scrap price of unsegregated material. Separation of scrap by composition (for example, glass and plastic) or by color (for example, clear glass and green glass) greatly increases the value of the scrap material. Separation of plastic scrap further according to chemical make-up is also desirable, for example, when vinyl-based container scrap is excluded from mixture with high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) container scrap.
In the past, segregation of returned containers has been labor intensive, so that the labor to perform the sorting can sometimes cost more than the increase in resale value of the segregated material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,519 discloses a device for receiving various different types of articles and maintaining separation of each type. This device includes a plurality of collection stations for receiving a plurality of articles through a plurality of insert ports, each port for receiving one different predetermined type of article. The device requires the consumer to first insert all containers of one type (for example, cans) into one collection station, and receive a payment for those containers. Next, the consumer inserts containers of another type in another collection station for a separate payment. A consumer having three types of containers to recycle must therefore stand in three separate lines at three separate collection stations and receive three separate payments. Further, the multiple stations require the retailer to provide a large amount of space to house the devices.